The Glen Waverley Uniting Church PSALTER
What is Worship in the Uniting Church?
I think this has a been a thorny question since forever. When we look at the ancient prophets, and Paul's admonitions to the various early churches, and Jesus comments about temples and expectations of 'worship offerings' probably not much of what we argue about as worship would be worship.
Micah 6 suggests that worship has nothing to do with our sacrifices or burnt offerings, but to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. Jesus would perhaps suggests something about empty phrases and public prayers...and possibly throw us all out of the 'temple'. I'm pretty sure that he's have something to say about attitude of heart and mind and response to one another and those in need; speaking angrily about a brother or a sister, and empty offerings. Hence worship has little to do with particular acts of ours at a particular time and place, but more to do with the shaping of our lives to the purposes of God in the world.
That said, however, my understanding is that 'worship' in the Protestant and Reformed traditions (of which we are very firmly part) takes many forms. (Please note that the Working Group on Worship calls Protestants the "Evangelical Revival" tradition - which I don't entirely I agree with as I think it picks up on one aspect of the protesting movement that could leave out the very definite concern for justice for the poor in their time and place.)
At a minimum the protestant tradition requires the reading of the Bible (Christian Scriptures) and some exploration of the scriptures in the context of prayers and often, but not always, communal singing (which may be considered 'praying twice'). Some suggest that it takes a particular form beginning with focusing on God rather than ourselves, moving through discerning what God may be saying to us in our time, then to a response - often this ends up feeling like the response is our offerings of money and the prayers that we say for other people...
From the Reformed tradition there would be an expectation that we would pay attention to some of the background witnesses from our heritage - all of which were radical departures from the mainstream of Christian worship in their day, and were deeply rooted in an understanding of the priority of God's GRACE, Christ's person and work, and scripture. There is a strong conviction that the Uniting church is a work in progress - that it is reformed and always reforming, and that we are a pilgrim people on the way toward the promised end, relying on the Holy Spirit to enable its work and witness.
In the Uniting Church liturgy there are 3 (4) primary parts: Beginning with THE GATHERING OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD (Gathering as God's People): gathering of people into a focus on God's presence, purpose and activity is where some at GWUC already struggle as it's not about 'welcoming each other', particular music, or the use of particular prayers or words, but where we direct our attention. (If we really thought that God is present in each other, and not somewhere away far off in the distance, then welcoming each other may indeed help us to focus on God, but I don't think that's what people really believe.)
The SERVICE OF THE WORD (Receiving God's Word) takes place in many ways. Each generation seems to be a need to hear the word in some way that they recognise and understand. (Hence for Protestants, there has been the development of many different translations of scripture, and a bit of an expectation that it will be accessible to ALL). The proclamation of the Word (which may either be understood as Scripture or as Christ - the eternal Word) also has for MANY years taken many different forms. SOME but by no means all of this has been by way of a sermon that has varied in length from the more traditional protestant expectation of a good exposition of 40+ minutes that may or may not include exhortations on how people who hear the word proclaimed should live, to 'teaching sermons' that are probably more didactic than most Uniting Church congregations would tolerate, to very short "homily" that were more part of the Roman Catholic addition as a response to protestant preaching. For Protestants the exploration of the Word is meant to lead in some way to changed lives. Since as long as I can remember there have been many different ways in which congregations have sought to explore the word and the meaning in their context.
The SACRAMENT OF THE LORD's SUPPER (Celebrating the Sacrament). Obviously, not all congregations celebrate communion every week at all services.
The SENDING FORTH OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD. Here we are sent on God's Mission in the world. Probably the better understanding of the response is in what William Willimon, Ronald Snider, Karl Bart, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Eugene Peterson, Walter Brueggemann, John Shelby Spong, Marcus Borg, Diana Butler Bass (and just about everyone else I can think of) suggest - our response would be the mark of true worship and would be shown in the way that we live our lives.
The Uniting Church in its Basis of Union clearly states the importance of the Biblical Witness (para 5), Sacraments (Para 6-8), Creeds (Para 9) and the importance of the Reformation Witness (Para 10) AND Scholarly Interpreters (para 11) where it identifies that the Uniting Church will "learn to sharpen its understanding of the will and purpose of God by contact with contemporary thought"... and "in relation to contemporary societies in ways which will help it to understand its own nature and mission"... "It prays that it may be ready when occasion demands to confess the Lord in fresh words and deeds." So there is fairly wide scope for interpreting how this may then be exercised in the Sunday gathering.
The NSW Synod has says in its description of its life: "Worship has a central place in the Christian life. In worship believers renew their awareness of God, affirm the fellowship they have with each other and are equipped to live their daily lives as Christians. Worship services are held at different times during the day, with the nature of the service varying from a formal liturgy to an informal and sometimes spontaneous meeting style."
Wikipedia describes Uniting Church Liturgy as
Liturgically the UCA is varied, practice ranges from experimental liturgies, informal worship reminiscent of the 'Jesus Revolution' of the 1970s to conventional reformed services. Music is likewise varied, from traditional and contemporary hymns in the Australian Hymn Book and Together in Song, through Hillsong and Contemporary Christian music to hard Christian alternative music and Christian metal.
While I wouldn't take Wikipedia as the final word it does seem to be a fairly accurate simple summary. However, we do operate under what can be described as "Ordered Liberty" There are some expectations, and times and places when particular aspects need to be attended to. "The Uniting Church in Australia shares such common concerns that liberty in worship should not become licence, any more than that all the suggested wording in those services approved by the Assembly should be repeated slavishly and without discrimination by leaders of worship". The Assembly Worship Working Group suggests (and it is suggests not directs!) that "the liturgy should give expression to the life of a local worshipping community. It may be enhanced by such things as drama, dance, the visual arts, music and the use of multimedia. A whole congregation may be involved e.g., through the use of percussive music and/or movement. Readings and prayers may be offered by more than one voice. Creative presentations may be helpful; they should be well-prepared and thoughtful. They should be a vehicle for the worship of the people, rather than a performance. Participatory worship is always the guiding principle; the congregation is not an audience."
My understanding is that all of the appropriate elements that make up protestant worship were in fact present in the service of 22 January. What seems to have been missing, and I think actually often is, is the attitude that worship is about shaping our lives to the way, the truth and the life priorities of God. i.e. discerning God's presence and purpose in and for our lives - individually, corporately, and in society.